Zipper fasteners are used on a wide variety of clothing, outerwear, bags, luggage, and sporting and camping gear. Typically the zipper fastener is formed of two (2) strips of zipper tape, each being affixed to one (1) of two (2) opposing pieces of an article which is to be joined. Each zipper tape has a plurality of specially shaped teeth which mate together to retain the opposing strips of zipper tape together. A hand-operated slider moves along the rows of teeth and meshes together and separates the opposing rows of teeth, depending on the direction of the slider's movement. Attached to the slider is the zipper pull tab which must be gripped by the user.
Unfortunately, the use of a zipper can be nearly impossible for some simply because the zipper pull is too small to securely grasp. People with physical disabilities, such as the elderly, the handicapped, or those recovering from injuries or surgery know all too well of some of the difficulties that they encounter while performing tasks that most of us take for granted. What comes easily to those that are not physically challenged, such as climbing stairs or bending down to tie one's shoes, requires extreme physical exertion for the disabled or, worse yet, is altogether impossible to accomplish without assistance. Among these difficulties, getting dressed is perhaps the most common, even including the simple movement required to pull up or pull down a zipper. Not only is this something that others must help them with, it is also an embarrassing moment for many.
Various decorative attachments, lanyard cords, and tab attachments exist intended to increase the size or alter the appearance of the pull tab of the zipper pull slider. Unfortunately existing attempts suffer from one or more disadvantage or deficiency related to design or utilization. These attempts are typically limited to particular types and styles of pull tabs and it can be difficult for a user to either securely retain the attachment to the pull tab or remove the attachment from the pull tab when desired.